


Blood

by terriblush



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: But it's not about that, F/M, Gen, Gil didn't have a kid with Jill AU, Menstruation mention, blood mention, but the words "genital discharge" make an appearance, clinical medical discussion of reproductive systems, it's about friends bonding, no homophobic tropes here AU, nothing graphic, so dysphoria warning too I guess?, tangential mention of a trans character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-01-31
Packaged: 2019-03-09 12:54:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13481904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/terriblush/pseuds/terriblush
Summary: When the contraceptive implants expire, the humans on the Tempest have to deal with hormones resetting. Inspired by a tumblr prompt: "Is that...blood?" There's no graphic discussion, but in the first chapter there's mention of all kinds of gross things that can go wrong with human reproductive systems. It's Lexi talking so it's very prim and professional, but still, fair warning.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The human women find an unexpected bond.

> _Medical note for all human team members:_
> 
> _Your contraceptive implants are due to fully expire within the next six months. As of now their effectiveness is no longer guaranteed._
> 
> _Regardless of physiology, you may experience hormonal imbalances and other side effects as your body adjusts. I will be scheduling each of you for an appointment for physical evaluation of your implant and discussion of relevant options available to you. If you have concerns or experience any of the following before your appointment, please see me:_
> 
>   * _Unexplained mood swings (outside of typical stress responses)_
>   * _Sudden significant increase or decrease in sexual desire or physical arousal symptoms_
>   * _Headaches (lasting longer than half a day)_
>   * _Nausea (severe, unexplained)_
>   * _Breast/pectoral pain (regardless of physiology)_
>   * _Breakthrough or irregular menstrual bleeding_
>   * _Recurrence of menses_
>   * _Extremely heavy menstruation_
>   * _Extremely painful menstruation_
>   * _Pain in the genitals, groin, or pelvic region_
>   * _Significant changes in genital discharge of any kind_
>   * _Sudden weight gain or loss_
>   * _Ovulation pain_
>   * _Severe fatigue_
>   * _Sudden changes in the appearance, consistency, or volume of ejaculate_
>   * _Painful ejaculation_
>   * _Painful urination_
> 

> 
> _Menstrual products and prophylactic contraceptives suitable for human use are available in the far left white cabinet in the bathroom._
> 
> _Lexi_
> 
> _\-----_
> 
> _Damn, humans are a_ mess _._
> 
> _Peebs_
> 
> _\-----_
> 
> _Thanks, Peebee. As if we weren't traumatized enough by that potential symptom list._
> 
> _Gil_
> 
> _\-----_
> 
> _I find myself with many questions that I'm not sure I want the answers to._
> 
> _Jaal_
> 
> _\-----_
> 
> _Trust me, man, you really don't._
> 
> _Bright side, you'll be getting your red wings soon! ;)_
> 
> _Liam_
> 
> _\-----_
> 
> _I am concerned, yet_ certain _I do not want to know what that is._
> 
> _Jaal_
> 
> _\-----_
> 
> _Ooh ooh can I tell him?_
> 
> _Peebs_
> 
> _\-----_
> 
> _Liam, Peebee, you're both grosser than that list, you know that, right?_
> 
> _Vetra_
> 
> _\-----_
> 
> _NO SPOILERS, Peebs! XD_
> 
> _Gil_
> 
> _\-----_
> 
> _CAN WE PLEASE GET SOME SORT OF BLOCKING FUNCTION WORKING ON THIS SOFTWARE SO I DON'T HAVE THIS IN MY INBOX_
> 
> _Kallo_
> 
> _\-----_
> 
> _You too, Gil._
> 
> _Vetra_
> 
> _\-----_
> 
> _Thank you for your thorough and_ professional _summary, Lexi, and for stocking the cabinet for us. The_ adults _appreciate it._
> 
>  _I am_ locking _this thread._
> 
> _Sara_

 

Ryder woke up with a headache, cramps, and a familiar and annoying feeling between her thighs. When Lexi had dissolved her implant and told her to expect a return to “regular cycles” within a month or two, she hadn't thought that meant less than a week later with harsher symptoms than she'd had since she was sixteen.

She slid out of bed, tucking a pillow into her empty spot so Jaal wouldn't wake up suddenly.

She grabbed clean pjs and underwear, and a trip to the bathroom confirmed the arrival of the crimson tide. She dropped her dirty clothes in the laundry and trudged to the galley.

Instead of Drack puttering, Ryder found Suvi sitting and nursing a cup of tea. She was wearing a robe and had her hair pushed out of her face with a headband.

“You too?” she asked when Ryder entered.

“Yep.”

“Got a pot of ginger chamomile over here. Grab a cup.”

“You're my _hero_ ,” Ryder groaned, grabbing a mug and sitting down.

She took her first sip just as Cora scuffed in, wearing a gigantic hoodie over her shorts. She looked between the two of them at the table and started chuckling. “Looks like I'm in good company?” she asked.

The women wordlessly raised their mugs in salute. She got out a mug and sat. “Trade ya chocolate for some tea?”

Suvi’s face lit up. She emptied the pot into Cora's mug and went to make another.

“You have _chocolate?_ ” Ryder whispered.

“And I will share,” Cora said, bringing a bar out of her hoodie pocket with a flourish. “I hope you both like it dark, but if not I'm sure we can find something sweet to mix it with melted.”

Cora tore open the gold wrapper and broke it into three equal pieces. One she slid to Suvi’s place and one she handed to Ryder.

“You’re a hero _too_ ,” Ryder said. “Suvi brought tea, you brought chocolate, but I don't have anything to share. ... Oh wait! Be right back.” She left and ducked into the medbay, finding what she was looking for fairly quickly.

Suvi was bringing the fresh pot back to the table when Ryder came back and settled in the doorway with a regal stance. “Today, I am not merely Pathfinder Ryder. _Today_ , I am _Heatfinder_ Ryder!” she declared triumphantly, pulling three disposable packs from behind her back.

“In the name of the Andromeda Initiative, I officially dub you Teafinder Anwar,” she handed out the packs, “and you Chocolatefinder Harper.”

“Teafinder sounds good, Heatfinder could use some work, but I'm really not so sure about Chocolatefinder,” Cora said wryly.

Suvi chuckled and filled everyone's cups.

“It's a position of _honor_ and _sacred_ _duty_ , Lieutenant Harper,” Ryder said solemnly as she sat down. “I have utmost faith in your abilities.”

Cora snorted and rolled her eyes. “So where's Drack?” she asked, breaking the internal pack and shaking to activate it.

Ryder shrugged and took a nibble of her chocolate.

Suvi frowned and looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “I don't know. He was here doing something with his shotgun when I came in to make some tea, but by the time it was done he'd cleaned up and cleared out. Didn't say a word. I hope I didn't offend him somehow.”

Ryder shook her head. “Probably just gave you space. Krogan are apparently...territorial during their menstrual cycles.”

Suvi raised her eyebrows over her mug. Cora put hers down and looked at Ryder with shining eyes. “ _How_ do you know that, Sara?” she asked with careful neutrality.

Ryder rolled her eyes and leaned back. “Are you aware that Lexi did doctoral work on krogan virility? And if you show polite interest she will discuss it at length and send you a copy of her thesis, with diagrams?”

Cora let out half a cackle and clapped her hand over her mouth. Suvi looked thoughtful. “That sounds fascinating, actually. I'll have to talk to her about it.”

“I bet she'd love that, Suvi,” Ryder smiled and took another swig of tea.

“This is kinda nice,” Cora said after a while. “Reminds me of hanging out with my friend Adam when we were teenagers--he was trans. Lived next door to each other since we were little and we were over at each other's places all the time, so our cycles usually coincided. We'd go to the corner store and buy a huge pile of junk food and curl up on the couch watching movies and playing video games.” Her smile faded. “We lost touch as we got older. Different universities, my parents moved. I hope...he ended up happy.”

Ryder and Suvi nodded quietly. Their own minds went to people and places left behind.

Ryder sighed and refilled her cup. She smiled softly at her own memories. “My mom and I would always make lasagna together. It's both our favorites, and it's pretty simple, filling comfort food. It became a running joke. In high school, Scott started just bringing home two chocolate bars and a loaf of bread from Mom's favorite bakery in the wards every few weeks and leaving them on the counter.”

“ _Awww_ ,” Suvi said around her chocolate, holding her hand to her mouth.

“Yeah, he's a sweetheart,” Ryder said, smiling softly. “I remember once, Dad told me that Mom had done that since before they met, and had been excited when she found out one of us was a girl, because it meant she'd probably be able to share it with someone.”

Ryder sighed again and activated her own heat pad. She tucked it behind her and closed her eyes against the stinging in her nose.

“I was visiting my gran when I got my first period,” Suvi said quietly, “and she made me ginger chamomile tea with honey, and wrapped me up, and we sat on her porch talking while she rubbed my back.” She was looking down, and rubbed her thumbs on the side of her mug. She sniffed and took in a deep breath before wiping her eyes.

Cora’s mug scuffed on the table and they both looked up. Her eyes were red and she was holding up her mug. “To blood ties and absent friends,” she said with watery smile.

They knocked their cups together with quiet nods. Everyone wiped their eyes again and sat in companionable silence for a while.

“Same time next month?” Ryder asked.

Cora huffed quietly and nodded.

“Wouldn't miss it,” Suvi said with a smile.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaal thinks about humans and their weirdness.

Jaal woke up alone, which wasn't exactly unusual, but Sara wasn't anywhere in the room, which was.

He stretched hugely, taking the opportunity to do so without shoving her uncomfortably.

He was starting to get restless with all this downtime, but he knew his crewmates needed it. They'd arrived at Eos yesterday and would land today for a two week break in Prodromos. Lexi had insisted the natural environment and being around other humans for commiseration would be best for them. The long vacation would allow the humans time to adjust and give the non-human crew a break from...the humans adjusting.

Liam had been especially irritable lately, and Gil had been positively _lurking_ in engineering, barely coming out for meals. Kallo hadn't even tried to have a single conversation with him. Jaal had asked Sara about it and she rolled her eyes and said something dismissive about seeing "how _they_ like it." She'd been unnervingly reserved for a few days, even by human standards, and seemed very tired.

Kallo had come down to the cargo bay yesterday for three hours, asking about Jaal's and Vetra's projects, chatty and aimless. When Jaal had remarked on it, asking if he was avoiding Suvi, he'd just wrinkled his thin lips crookedly and nodded. Even _Peebee_ was avoiding teasing any of the humans. Drack seemed to have just stopped talking for the duration, communicating only in grunts and significant looks. The strangest thing was, the humans all seemed to respond well to this.

Lexi had sent Jaal more information about human biology and he'd read it carefully. Liam had been right, he really _hadn't_ wanted to know—but his friends were important. Sara was important. He'd needed to understand the context for their behavior, and when he had, he'd had a moment of conflicted gratitude for the jardaan and their precise engineering.

Jaal was slightly better equipped to deal with the situation than some of the other non-human crew. He had plenty of experience living with adolescents and their hormonal surges. He'd continue his regular routine, give the humans the space they needed, and offer companionship if they seemed to need it. There was nothing else to do but wait it out.

That's why he didn't care for biology. At a certain point, there was really nothing anyone, even experienced doctors, could do but wait and see. He preferred machines and tech that could be completely understood. Fixed and improved. Biology was so complex, unpredictable. Fascinating, powerful systems, but outside of anyone's true control.

Jaal got out his supplies and headed to the showers.

 _Except the jardaan. Did they decide to engineer angara because of similar feelings?_ The thought had never occurred to him before, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it.

Sara met him, leaving the bathroom just as he entered.

"Good morning," he said with a smile, offering his hand and leaning down for a kiss on her cheek instead of his usual encompassing hug. She leaned into his kiss, pulled his arm around her, and squeezed around his waist. "Feeling okay?" he asked.

"Better. Lexi's right—it's good to have people who know what you're going through."

"It helps with most things," Jaal said, kissing her temple and pulling away.

"See you in a bit," she smiled and headed to her— _their_ —quarters.

He cleaned his teeth, then undressed and started the shower.

 _Their_ quarters. He still wasn't quite used to the idea.

A warm flush rose happily through him at the thought. It had been a few months since she'd shyly suggested it. Jaal remembered how his heart stopped when she'd looked away and explained living together was usually an informal step toward marriage for humans. A sign of commitment and strong attachment. She'd been nervous, but then laughed with him when he'd tearfully scooped her up and kissed all over her face.

They hadn't _formally_ decided anything...but...he thought of a home on Havarl, or Meridian, or even Eos, now the climate was milder, where they could just be... _still_. She'd given him a life he'd once thought impossible. That was worth a _thousand_ bizarre alien hormonal cycles.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time off in Prodromos

A few people were waiting to greet them when they landed. The Tiervians waved. Liam called loudly to Bradley as he walked up. Vetra immediately broke off with a group and started gossiping vigorously. And Scott attacked as soon as Sara stepped off the ramp.

"SARABEAR!"

_"Ooof. Down, Scott."_

"Sorry!" he put her down and shook her shoulders excitedly, "You didn't _tell_ _me_ you were coming for two weeks of leave? I had to find out with everyone else when Bell-Scott sent out the weekly bulletin yesterday! You're lucky I could trade shifts and get today off!"

She smiled feebly. "Sorry. I...forgot?"

"You _forgot_ to tell me you were visiting my outpost when we haven't seen each other in person for months."

 _"Your_ outpost?"

Scott rolled his eyes. "I've lived here for over six standard months, so yeah, it's mine. Prodromos is home."

She smiled and hugged him. "Knew you'd love it here. Use your skills and have your own adventure at the same time."

"Because it was your idea?" he cheerfully scoffed.

"Nope, not claiming credit, I just knew it was a good one."

He scruffed her head, completely messing up her hair, then turned to Jaal while she was grumbling and fixing it.

"Hey Jaal!"

"Scott! It's good to see you again."

Jaal thought he was getting better at the grab/hug/pat that many human men seemed to prefer. Scott seemed much more comfortable this time, but that could be the familiarity they'd built up over the vid messages Sara exchanged with him.

"Hey sweetheart, you mind picking him up and squeezing the stuffing out of him for me?" Sara asked as she twisted her hair back up. "Y'know, in interest of fairness."

Jaal laughed and turned to her. "If he does something worse than slightly annoying his sister because he's excited to see her, I'll consider it." His heart warmed when Scott shot him a grin.

"So what gives anyway, Sara? You forgot?" Scott crossed his arms and looked like he was masking his hurt with annoyance. Jaal sighed. _Humans._

Sara hummed. "Did Bell-Scott mention why we're having such a long break?"

"No?"

They started heading toward the main buildings of the colony, which already looked much better established than the last time they had visited. Jaal saw fields beyond them, and small gardens in containers around the prefab units. In addition to the Resistance troops he recognized, there were angara civilians working with the Initiative species, too. He smiled. Maybe the Initiative would have their Aya even sooner than they hoped.

"We're all—the humans anyway—finally coming off the blockers."

"Just now? And all of you at the same time?"

"We've been kind of _busy,"_ she responded irritably. "It's not like there was ever a convenient time for it. Now they're running out, so we didn't have much choice about everyone coming off at once."

"That's fair," Scott nodded, frowning thoughtfully. "I guess I can forgive you," he gave her a half smile and she made a rude gesture. "I couldn't find my ass with both hands for a few weeks after I came off the blockers. Of course, I was still in medbay, so I don't know how much of that was because of residual effects from the coma. But it definitely wasn't fun."

"Lexi demanded we all take some leave somewhere with actual air and sunlight and other humans so we'd stop terrorizing our poor aliens."

"Oh, no." Scott stopped, then turned to Jaal solemnly. He put his hands on Jaal's shoulders and looked into his eyes, concerned. "You ok, man?"

Jaal wrinkled his brow and tilted his head forward in perplexed amusement. He smiled slightly, but Scott only seemed to be partially joking. "Unless I've been terribly misinformed and hormonal changes have the potential to make humans dangerous, rather than just sleepy, more prone to tears, and irritable, I think I have weathered far greater threats than this, yes. Including my own adolescence."

Scott snorted and slapped him companionably, then crossed his arms and turned. "You're keeping this one, right, Sara? I like him."

Jaal had the urge to let his field thrum happily, but directed it to ground for now. He contented himself with sharing a smile with Sara. "I'd like to, yeah," she said quietly, reaching for his hand.

He twined their fingers together and leaned down to gently nuzzle her temple. "You'll have me as long as you want, darling one," he whispered. Jaal smiled to see her blush as he straightened.

"Alright, I'm gonna barf if you guys get any more saccharine," Scott said, rolling his eyes. "Let's head to the cantina and we can catch up and make plans for your vacation."

Jaal froze and cleared his throat awkwardly. Sara squeezed his hand sympathetically. Casual reference to _severe illness symptoms_ was still something that he...just... _augh,_ _why do they do that?_ At least he'd reached a good balance with the Tempest crew.

He'd gotten over it by the time they reached the cantina Scott mentioned. It seemed to be a cross between a galley, a community hall, and a tavetaan. Other members of the crew were there with some Prodromos citizens.

Jaal and Sara found seats while Scott went to get them something to eat and drink.

 _"Sarabear?"_ Jaal asked quietly, restraining a grin.

She groaned and rolled her eyes. "There's these stories for kids...anyway, Scott was obsessed _._ We were four. It just...stuck."

He squeezed her shoulders and kissed her cheek. "It is wonderful _, taoshay."_ She laughed. "But I should refrain from so much affection around your brother, or he'll have a _horrible_ reaction," he gave her a wry smile and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, gotta nip _that_ in the bud," she said sternly. He knew that look.

 _"Sara—"_  he started, but she shook her head and ignored him. Scott was nearly there anyway. Jaal sighed in defeat.

Scott brought over glasses of water and two plates of food, one for them and one for Jaal, then flopped down in a chair near the couch they'd found.

"So...Scott," Sara offered conversationally, reaching for a glass and small red fruit. "You know how it would be awkward for me to start talking about, say...that time you walked in on mom and dad having sex when we were eleven?"

Scott froze and coughed, mid sip, and a large amount of water spilled down his shirt. His face went pale, then blotchy, and his eyes widened so Jaal could almost see his _entire_ iris.

"What _the FUCK_ Sara," Scott whispered in horror and sat down his glass to stare at her. Jaal coughed into his hand and chuckled. _Oh, taoshay. No hesitation._

"Wow these cherry tomatoes are amazing!" she said as an aside, then continued her assault. "Oh! Or if I talked about my clitoris right now. That'd be kinda awkward, right?"

Jaal closed his eyes and rested his head on the back of the seat when a smile threatened at the corners of his mouth.

_"What the fuck Sara?"_

"It's kind of embarrassing and unpleasant to talk about, right? Cause most humans don't really talk about sex publicly?"

"Oh. my. god. _Yes._ What are you _talking about?"_

"Angara are like that about illness. And illness symptoms."

Scott was silent, then Jaal heard his breath draw in as realization and horror dawned again. _"Shit."_

Jaal burst out laughing and Sara followed. He hadn't fallen in love with a woman. He'd fallen for _a grenade in human form._

"Sara! You better not be shitting me!"

"I'm _not_ I _swear_ —but your _face—"_ her words cut off and Jaal felt her lean against him, giggling helplessly.

Jaal sent an affectionate, appreciative charge to her while he tried to calm his laughter. He sat back up and looked over at Scott, who was shielding his eyes with one hand. After a few more chuckles, a cough, and a drink of water, Jaal managed to talk.

"It's alright, Scott. Really," he said, smiling when Scott peeked through his fingers. Then, to Sara, "I appreciate it, darling one, but you really didn't have to be so...emphatic." She rolled her eyes.

"No, no—it was...very effective," Scott said, blinking and shaking his head. Sara beamed at Jaal and took another fruit. "It also put some awkward moments with a few angara here in Prodromos into perspective."

Jaal had reached for a slice of elmohk and was _very_ glad he hadn't taken a bite. "Moments?" he asked in horror, "More than one?"

Scott was starting to sink down in his chair, deflating with belated embarrassment. "Probably so many times. And no one said, probably because it's so awkward. I'd assumed, angara being open with feelings, they'd say if I did something weird but obviously that won't cover taboos and oh god I am _such_ an accidental weirdo," he closed his eyes and groaned.

"Ok, triage," Sara said, businesslike. "Were you trying to flirt with anyone?"

Scott took a deep breath. "Thank _all possible deities_ new and old, **no** , I wasn't."

Jaal was leaning on the arm of the couch chuckling again, imagining the scandalized bioelectricity that must have been arcing.

"Then it can't be as bad as the time Jaal asked Liam about human erogenous zones in the nomad—while I was _driving_ —so you'll probably be fine."

Scott's squawk of horror followed Jaal's cry of dismayed betrayal, but Sara grinned happily at both of them and crossed her arms.

"See, there, now you've got common ground to bond over," she said. Jaal just groaned and ate his elmohk.

"Oh, you are in serious shit now, Sara." Scott's eyes narrowed. "I have pictures. From _middle school."_

"Ha!" she slid her feet out of her shoes and tucked them under Jaal's leg. He smiled to see her relaxing and reached down to pet her ankle. "You think that scares me? _Please._ Jaal would just think they're adorable." _They definitely would be. No question._

"Didn't say I was gonna show him."

"Ohhh, you wanna go, huh?"

"I just want you to be fully aware of who you're messing with, here."

"I have been kicking your ass for 20 years and pictures of me in that awful yellow dress I wore to the 7th grade dance do not scare me."

Their teasing was reassuring, heartwarming, homey. _Lexi was right. Sara needed this. I hope everyone else is feeling better, too._ Jaal grabbed another slice of fruit and smiled as he watched them. Scott looked like he was savoring something, and sat up carefully. He leaned toward Sara and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Aunt. Georgia's. Sweater."

She gasped. "...you _motherfucker_. You don't. I destroyed those."

"I do," he said, settling back in his chair with a grin.

"Liar."

Scott pulled up his omnitool, typed for a bit, then Sara's dinged. She opened the file and stared from it to Scott and back in amusement and horrified respect.

"How. The _hell?"_ she asked.

"Mom had a bunch of old files that we never went through after...we thought she died. I brought them with me in my personal locker, and there were tons of photo backups."

Sara gasped, and Jaal saw tears glint in her eyes.

"I checked the other files, and they're flagged private so I figured I'd just...leave them for her...in case we can ever wake her safely. But the photos...wanna go through them while you're here?"

"Yeah, that'd be great, Scotty," she said softly.

Scott's response was interrupted by Gil rushing in, followed by a human woman. Their noise got the attention of people around the room for a moment, then they all went back to their own conversations or work. Gil looked around and caught Jaal's eyes with a look of relief and headed over to join them.

"...know you want kids too, and neither of us has ever even had a relationship with anyone we'd be willing to co-parent with, so it makes sense, Gil," she was saying as he stomped over.

 _"Jill,_ I am _done_ talking about this right now."

She made a frustrated noise and rolled her eyes. "Fine. But it's not like I'm gonna wait for you forever, Gil."

"I don't know why you were ever waiting for me in the first place, Jill!" Jaal leaned back and raised his brow. Gil was shaking and his face was bright red. He was yelling at the top of his lungs in front of everyone. Hormone adjustment or no, Jaal was kind of concerned. He'd only ever seen humans this angry _in battle_. "This isn't some hundred year old _sitcom!_ Yes, I do want kids eventually, but I want them with my _eventual husband._ I am not your personal sperm bank! If your biological clock is ticking, go find someone else to hit the damn snooze button!" He pointed at the door and glared at her shocked expression until she stormed out.

The entire cantina was quiet for a minute, and Gil sat down with a huge groan and put his face in his hands. Gradually, the sound of conversation rose again. Jaal looked uncertainly to Sara and Scott for cues. His own instincts wouldn't necessarily be a help.

The twins exchanged expressions, faces moving in patterns that Jaal still wasn't quite fluent in. Then Scott held up a finger and walked off. Sara sighed and sat up. She stood and motioned Jaal to scoot so she could sit at the end closest to Gil. She grabbed a napkin and put her hand on his arm. Gil looked at her, took the napkin, and hid in his hands again. She patted his forearm, gave it a squeeze, and sat back.

Jaal saw Scott swiping his omnitool at a large container in the corner, and filling two glasses with brown liquid. He came back over and nudged Gil's shoulder to hand him one of the glasses. Gil took it mechanically, then paused and looked at it. He closed his eyes and took a long sniff, and sighed. Then he looked up at Scott in awe.

"Is...this…"

Scott grinned and sat back down, taking a sip of his own drink. "Where there are humans, there are grains and yeast. And where there are humans, grains, and yeast…"

"You have beer," Gil said reverently, staring at the glass. Then he looked over to Scott again. "You brought me _actual beer._ You are the most beautiful man I have ever seen."

Scott laughed and waved a hand as he took another sip. Gil took a deep appreciative drink.

"You didn't bring me beer," Sara complained, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows at her brother.

"You hate beer, Sarabear. And those are freshly picked yesterday," he pointed at the plate of fruits and vegetables he'd brought over.

"Still."

"Well, I happen to love beer," a gentle rolling voice said. Suvi came around from behind Jaal and went over to sit on the arm of Gil's chair. "but there's no way they got a crop of barley or rye to grow in this climate this fast, even with Meridian active. What's it made of?"

"Pretty decent brown ale from engineered sorghum," Scott said, setting his glass down and heading to get one for Suvi. During the lull, she put her arm over Gil's shoulder and leaned down to speak to him quietly. He sighed and nodded, then patted her knee.

Scott continued his explanation when he returned. "Dinesh's cousin Riya helped get it started. Came out of cryo about a year ago. She's an agricultural engineer, apparently following in their grandfather's footsteps. Their family's been farming back on Earth for...geez, who knows? Forever?" he said as he handed her a glass and sat back down.

Suvi took a cautious sip, then her eyes lit up and she took a larger one. Scott laughed. "You guys are gonna go through my entire ration, aren't you?" he sighed. "I guess it's fair. You all saved my ass."

Jaal saw his eyes glance down, and said, "Scott. You are _family."_

"S'right," Gil said, raising his glass. Suvi nodded firmly.

Scott looked around at all of them with swimming eyes, and shared a significant look with Sara. She was smiling quietly and had gently put the bottoms of her feet back against Jaal's thigh. He reached over and she took his hand, squeezing in response to the small pulse of love and contentment he sent.

Scott sighed and looked down into his glass with a smile. "Never had brothers before. I'm not really sure how it works."

Jaal smiled. "I can teach you," he said. When Scott grinned at him and nodded, he felt completely at home.


End file.
